Ben Lomond bioregion—sub-humid, warm coastal plains mantled in siliceous gravels, and cool/cold mountain ranges comprised of granites, siltstones and mudstones, covered with sandy loams and siliceous gravels. The mountains in Victoria are capped by Jurassic dolerite with shallow gradational soils. Silurian-Devonian siltstones and mudstones covered with gradational soils constitute a substantial part of the lower hills. Lowland vegetation comprises mainly open sclerophyll woodlands and heath, while the upper slopes consist of wet sclerophyll forests, some rainforest, and alpine vegetation in the highest regions. Land usage is primarily forestry, mining and grazing.

Ben Lomond National Park—located in the north-east of the Australian state of Tasmania, about 50km east of Launceston, the park has an area of 16,527ha and was established on 23 July 1947. It is classified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because it supports populations of the flame robin and of at least ten Tasmanian endemic bird species, for which it is a representative protected area in north-eastern Tasmania. Ben Lomond National Park is a large plateau atop precipitous cliffs that dominate the plains of rural north-eastern Tasmania. Just 50km from Launceston, Ben Lomond is Tasmania's principal downhill ski field. Tasmania's characteristic dolerite columns so prized by rock-climbers and abseilers are especially dramatic here. Wildflowers abound in summer, and although much of the plateau is stony, elsewhere on the mountain there are dense forests and moorlands. The Indigenous Ben Lomond tribe consisted of three and possibly four bands totalling 150-200 people who occupied 260 km2 of country surrounding the 182km2 Ben Lomond plateau. Until 12,000 years ago, the plateau was covered by an ice cap, leaving it largely devoid of soil and lacking in resources. In September 1829, John Batman, with the assistance of several "Sydney blacks" he brought to Tasmania, led an attack on an Aboriginal family group together numbering 60-70 men, women and children in the Ben Lomond district of north-east Tasmania, killing an estimated 15 people. Rolepana (aged 8 years), child-survivor of a massacre by a 'roving party' led by John Batman, travelled with him as part of the founding party of Melbourne in 1835.The 19th century artist, John Glover, captioned one of his Tasmanian paintings, Batman's Lookout, Benn Lomond (1835) "...on account of Mr Batman frequenting this spot to entrap the Natives." Between 1828 and 1830, Tasmanians in this region were shot or rounded up by bounty hunters like John Batman.[24]

bench—(the...) collectively, the judges of a court of law.

bencher—an occupant of a specified bench (see: backbencher) in parliament.

bend the elbow—paying obeisance to the liquid amber: Shane's out bending the elbow at the pub.

bendee—Acacia catenulata, a woodland tree, to 15m tall, the trunk deeply fluted, usually with many short horizontal branches. Branchlets are angular, with scattered short hairs. Inflorescences occur singly or in pairs in axils, or on short axillary shoots; peduncles 2-4mm; spikes 10-30mm long. The seeds are longitudinal, oblong, 4-5mm long, 2-2.5mm wide; aril small, obliquely terminal, yellow.
Confined to Qld, except for a record from NT. They invariably occur in pure stands or with emergent eucalypts on shallow soils on scarps of weathered sediments, sometimes adjoining, but not mixing with, stands of A. shirleyi or A. aneura.
Probably more closely related to A. shirleyi than to species of the A. aneura complex, although before its recognition as a distinct species it was usually identified as A. aneura. In the field, however, it is easily identified by its its dark, fluted trunk. It is also distinguished by its phyllodes that have close parallel nerves without pubescent furrows between them; its midnerve that is slightly more prominent than other nerves; and, principally, by its flat pods that are strongly constricted between the seeds.

Bendigo—a large inland city in central Victoria. Like Ballarat, Bendigo is a gold city, with the architecture reflecting the prosperity of the times. Much of its heritage and many tourist attractions date from this period, such as the Central Deborah Gold Mine, the Victorian buildings (probably the finest collection in any Australian city), the Chinese influence, and the vintage trams. As well, there are the Bendigo Pottery (National Trust classified), the Bendigo Woollen Mills, numerous industries (including wineries), and the University College. Bendigo is located 150km north of Melbourne.

Bendigo Goldfields—gold was found at Bendigo Creek in September 1851. According to the Bendigo Historical Society, it is generally agreed that gold was found at Bendigo Creek by two married women from the Mount Alexander North Run (later renamed the Ravenswood Run), Margaret Kennedy (nee McPhee) and Julia Farrell, at "The Rocks" area of Bendigo Creek. On 1 December 1851 a request was made for police protection at Bendigo Creek, a request that officially disclosed the new gold-field. Protection was granted and the Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Gold Districts of Buninyong and Mt Alexander, Captain Robert Wintle Home, arrived with three black troopers (native police) to set up camp at Bendigo Creek on 8 December. There is no doubt that Henry Frencham, under the pen-name of "Bendigo", was the first to publicly write anything about gold-mining at Bendigo Creek. It was Frencham's words, published in The Argus of 13 December 1851 that were to begin the Bendigo Goldrush. He was also the first person to deliver a quantity of payable gold from the Bendigo goldfield to the authorities when on 28 December 1851, 3 days after the 603 men, women and children then working the Bendigo goldfield had pooled their food resources for a combined Christmas dinner, Frencham and his partner Robert Atkinson, with Trooper Synott as an escort, delivered 30 lbs of gold that they had mined to Assistant Commissioner Charles J.P. Lydiard at Forest Creek (Castlemaine), the first gold received from Bendigo. In late November 1851 some of the miners at Castlemaine (Forest Creek), having heard of the new discovery of gold, began to move to Bendigo Creek joining those from the Mount Alexander North (Ravenswood) Run who were already prospecting there. Just days later, in mid-December 1851, the rush to Bendigo had begun. By April 1852 Bendigo Creek was regarded as a goldfield in its own right. By June 1852 "it is estimated that there were 40,000 diggers on the field—an extraordinary number bearing in mind that in February pre-goldrush Melbourne had a total population of only 23,000". Chinese people, in particular, were attracted to the Bendigo goldfields in great numbers, establishing a large Chinatown on a bountiful gold run to the north-east of the city at Emu Point. Within ten years the Chinese miners and merchants made up 20% of the Bendigo population. Other ethnic communities also developed, including the Germans at Ironbark Gully and the Irish at St Killian's.
In 1853 there was a massive protest march by surface miners against the 30 shilling gold license fee and the frequency, monthly, with which it was collected. This protest, the Red Ribbon Agitation, was peaceful, unlike the later Eureka event in Ballarat. When the early discoveries of alluvial gold began to run out, the goldfields soon changed from small operations to major mines with deep shafts to mine the quartz-based gold. Mining companies were formed and numerous pit mines were sunk to exploit the underground ores which are found in elongated saddle quartz reefs in corrugated sedimentary rock.

Bennett's tree-kangaroo—Dendrolagus bennettianus, a large tree-kangaroo—males can weigh from 11.5kg up to almost 14kg, while the females range between about 8-10.6kg. They are very agile and are able to leap 9m down to another branch, and have been known to drop as far as 18m to the ground without injury. Bennett's tree-kangaroo can be found on the coastal lowlands as well as the ranges, and extends along riparian strips into drier eucalypt forest. This very elusive (or "cryptic") tree-kangaroo is found in both mountain and lowland tropical rainforests south of Cooktown, Queensland to just north of the Daintree River; an area of only about 70km by 50km. It is also occasionally found in sclerophyll woodlands. It lives almost completely on the leaves of a wide range of rainforest trees, notably Schefflera actinophylla (umbrella tree), vines, ferns and various wild fruits. Now that it is rarely hunted by Aborigines, its main predators are pythons and the dingo. It is thought to be the closest tree-kangaroo to the ancestral form.
Like other tree-kangaroos it has longer forelimbs and shorter hindlimbs than terrestrial kangaroos, and a long bushy tail. It is mostly dark brown above and lighter fawn on chin, throat and lower abdomen. The forehead and muzzle are greyish. The feet and hands are black. The tail has a black patch at the base and a light patch on the upper part. The ears are short and rounded.
Although the IUCN still rates the status of Bennett's tree-kangaroo as "near threatened", its numbers seem to be increasing and its range expanding. Sightings have become far more common in recent years. The increases in numbers and range are likely because most of its range is now protected under World Heritage legislation, in addition to no longer being hunted. Both Roger Martin and Lewis Roberts, two of the world's top experts on this species, agree that it should now be classified as "secure."

Bennett's wallaby—Macropus rufogriseus bennett, a medium-sized kangaroo with a dark grey-brown body and silvery tail. Albinos (white with pink eyes) also occur. Bennett’s wallaby is the Tasmanian subspecies of the red-necked wallaby of southern and eastern Australia. It is found in woodlands at altitudes of up to 1250m, at the forest edge and in coastal scrubland. Its diet consists of grasses and leaves which are plucked with its large, powerful incisor teeth and mashed up using hard, grinding molars. As with all kangaroos, the back legs are very well muscled and the strong tail is used for balance when leaping, or as a prop when sitting. The wallaby’s normal colouration provides excellent camouflage amongst woodland undergrowth, and it’s relatively dense fur gives it the added insulation needed to survive in the cool Tasmanian climate. Bennett’s wallabies are usually solitary animals, staying together only for the duration of mating. When the baby is born, usually during the rainy season, it closely resembles a baked bean in size and shape. This tiny, barely formed creature, unable to see or hear, hauls itself up its mother’s belly, hanging on by its front legs (its back legs are less developed) and makes its way into the pouch. Once inside, it attaches to one of the four teats and remains there for nearly 7 months, venturing out occasionally as it gets bigger. Even after leaving the pouch for the last time, the young wallaby may continue to suckle. Bennett’s wallabies, with their taste for eucalyptus trees and other crops, have long been regarded as pests. Their meat has been used for human and pet food and their skins for leather and fur. Now hunting is regulated and wallaby numbers are high. Also known as the red-necked wallaby.

bentwing bat—Miniopterus schreibersii bassanii, a common bat that lives and breeds in caves. It possesses a short muzzle and a high crowned head; its colouration is black to red-brown on top, with a paler colour underneath. These tiny bats leave roosts for nightly forages in forested areas for flying insects. They are capable of swift flight and sudden dives for the capture of their prey. Although sighted, they use echolocation for hunting and moving around in the darkness of the caves. This amazing sensory system allows them to ‘see’ using sound. The bentwings migrate to their breeding cave every spring to give birth and raise the young (known as pups). The warm and safe conditions within the cave provide the ideal underground nursery where the pups grow to full size in only six weeks. The Bat Cave at Naracoorte is the largest of only two known breeding sites for the bentwing, and recent studies place the population at less than 50,000 and declining. Also known as the common bent-wing bat.

Beringbooding Rock—site of the largest rock water catchment tank in Australia, built in 1937 and holding two and a quarter million gallons. "Sustenance Labour" was used to build the tank at a cost of 10,000 pounds. Beringbooding has an amazing balance boulder, a huge gnamma hole and some of the Kalamaia tribe's paintings of hands in a cave at the rear of the rock. Two early pioneer wells are nearby. Spring finds the pink ti-tree, heartshaped leaf eucalyptus, melaleuca, acacia, grevillea, hakea, calothamnus, eromophilia, cassia, quandongs, sandalwood and the native orchids flowering. Later into October and November the kunzia pulchella and one-sided bottlebrush flower profusely. Many birds inhabit the area.

berk—a fool; disliked person.

berko—1. crazy; mad; insane. 2. berserk; exceptionally angry.

berley—1. vomit, as a result of sea-sickness. 2. good-humoured teasing. 3. bait scattered over the water to attract fish.

Bermagui—a resort town in New South Wales, at the northern entrance to the Sapphire Coast. Here, the continental shelf is at its closest point to the mainland, affording fine offshore fishing, and Wallaga Lake is the largest lake in southern NSW. Secluded surf beaches, estuaries, wetlands and coastal lagoons surround Bermagui. This area is the home of the Yuin Aboriginal community, and cultural tours to local Koori sites are available.

Berrima—the only intact example of an Australian Georgian colonial town. Established in 1831, it is located in a picturesque valley on a bend of the Wingecarribee River. Berrima was chosen by Governor Bourke to be the administrative centre for the county of Camden, which comprised new lands discovered and settled to the south of the new colony, from Cowpastures (Camden) to Argyle (Goulburn). Interestingly, the first European party to travel through the district was led by an ex-convict sent to gather information about the southlands (1798) to discourage convicts who were heading south in the belief that China was but 150 miles away. The original government settlement in the Highlands was moved to Berrima in the 1830s. The town's historic value was recognised in the 1960s when efforts were made to restore the old buildings, and the National Heritage Council declared the entire village an historic precinct. Most of the buildings are early Georgian or simple rural cottages. The early settlers planted plenty of exotic trees to remind them of England, which makes for a sharp contrast with the surrounding bushland. The area around Berrima had been occupied by the Dharawal people, whose language provided the town's name from a word said to mean 'to the south'. They had, in effect, been driven off or killed by the 1870s. Located in New South Wales.

Besser (block)—a brand name of concrete-moulded building block: They built their home with Bessers.

best bib and tucker—best, finest clothes.

best bits—best pieces, odds and ends, things, treats, etc: I always keep the best bits of gossip for last.

best end of neck—the rib end of a neck of lamb, etc for cooking.

best of British luck—an expression of good-will.

bet each way—1. cover all contingencies. 2. (racing) back a horse for a win and a place.

bet London to a brick—be absolutely certain: You can bet London to a brick it'll rain tomorrow.

bet on two flies crawling up a wall—to be a compulsive gambler.

Bethesda—church influence: Lutheran; however they have no records for this mission.

better half—a spouse or living partner.

better than a poke in the eye with a blunt/burnt stick—a sardonic expression of acceptance or satisfaction; the view that things could be worse.

bettong—a small, macropodid marsupial of the genus Bettongia, endemic to Australia and Tasmania. These small, nocturnal animals inhabit the forest undergrowth. It is are characterised by sharp-clawed paws, long bottom-teeth for gnawing, and a prehensile tail for carrying and nest-building. Nesting consists of a shallow-dug hole, covered and camouflaged with forest litter. Three species of this genus have become extinct on the Australian mainland: the brush-tailed bettong of drier regions of southern Australia, the burrowing bettong of western and central Australia, and the eastern bettong of southern and eastern Australia. The northern bettong is restricted to some areas of mixed open eucalypt woodland and Allocasuarina forest, bordering the rainforest in far north-eastern Queensland. Also known as the rat-kangaroo, from their resemblance to both these animals.

between you, me and the gate-post—confidential; confidentially.

betwixt and between—1. neither one thing nor the other. 2. caught in the middle.

bevan—a hoon.

Beverley deposit—a large uranium deposit on the plains north-west of Lake Frome. The deposit consists of three mineralised zones (north, central and south) in a buried palaeo-channel (the Beverley aquifer) in tertiary sediments of the Frome Basin. The aquifer is isolated from other groundwater, notably the Great Artesian Basin about 150 metres below it, and small aquifers in the Willawortina Formation above it, which are used for stock watering. Located 520km north of Adelaide and 25km north-east of the Arkaroola Resort in the northern Flinders Ranges.

bewdy!—great! fantastic! (the spelling reflects the common pronunciation of "beauty").

bewdy Newk!—great!; terrific!; wonderful!

beyond the Black Stump—beyond the edge of civilisation: from the practice amongst drovers and bullockys of lighting the evening fire in a tree stump.

beyond the pale—socially unacceptable; unbelievable.

Bex—1. a brand of aspirin, sold in powder form 2. a general term for aspirin.

BHP—Broken Hill Proprietary; now a global natural resources company, BHP (incorporated in 1885) began as a silver, lead and zinc mine in Broken Hill. In the early post-WWI period, the company expanded into steel products and is now the leading steel-producing company in Australia and New Zealand, holding 80% of the market; as well as supplier to Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. Development of petroleum products was added in 1967, with the discovery of oil off the southeastern coast of Australia, in Bass Strait; and the mining of uranium was added in 2001, with the BHP-Billiton merger.

BHP Billiton—BHP merged with Billiton, one of South Africa's largest mining groups, in early 2001. The new company, BHP Billiton, had an estimated Australian value of some $60 billion at the time of the merger. Both BHP and Billiton are involved in several projects with exploration juniors around the world where uranium is being targeted (directly or indirectly) as part of copper and base metals explorations programs.

bi-cameral—a legislature comprising two chambers: an elected Lower House, and an Upper House, originally with Members who were appointed rather than elected. The Commonwealth Parliament comprises the House of Representatives and the Senate. All state parliaments excepting that in Queensland are bicameral.

Biamanga National Park—conserves an important area of substantially unmodified coastal foothill environments. Mumbulla Mountain, at the upper reaches of the Murrah River, is sacred to the Yuin people and a number of sites throughout the park have spiritual significance to local Aboriginal groups. In January of 2001, under the National Parks-Aboriginal Ownership Amendment, Biamanga National Park was included in Schedule 14 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, for handback to the Aboriginal owners. The park is located 2 km north of Bega, on the Sapphire Coast of New South Wales.

bib and bub—(rhyming slang) tub; i.e., a bath.

bib and tucker—(Brit.) one's best clothes.

bib in—to interfere.

Bibbulmun—an Aboriginal people of Western Australia.

Bibbulmun Track—a celebrated recreational bushwalking trail in the Torbay area of Western Australia. The track passes through the Walpole-Nornalup National Park on its 1000km route from the hills of Perth to the city of Albany in South Australia.

bibful—an embarrassing disclosure of a confidence: He let go a bibful in front of everybody.

Big Ben—a snow-clad volcano that dominates Heard Island in the great Southern Ocean. Big Ben spans an area of 380sq km (nearly the entire island). Mawson's Peak at Big Ben's summit rises to a height of 2745m. The volcano was last active in 1993, and the middle of the 70 metre-deep crater still contains molten lava. The volcano has erupted at least eight times since 1910 from the Mawson Peak vent. Many of the eruptions were subglacial and most were moderate in size, but explosive. Only three historic eruptions produced lava flows.

big bickies—expensive; a lot of money.

big bin—prison.

big bug/noise/pot/shot—a bigwig; an person of some importance or social prominence.

big dipper—roller-coaster at an amusement park.

big girl/big girl's blouse—to behave in an effeminate manner; Oh, don't be such a big girl!

big house—the principal house on a property: His lordship lives in the big house.

Big Scrub Rainforest—the largest area of tall sub-tropical rainforest in Australia, prior to agricultural development. Containing over 500 plant species and over 300 species of animals, this 75,000ha forest was almost totally destroyed in the latter part of the 19th century. Today, only isolated remnants totalling less than 300ha remain, some 0.4%—0.13% of the original Big Scrub rainforest. Located near Byron Bay, on the north coast of NSW.

Big Sunday—a rock formation within the Katherine/El Sherana area that occurs in the south-eastern part of the Pine Creek geosyncline. Big Sunday is regarded as a sacred site by local Aboriginal tribes.

biggada—a sub-species of the euro, found only on Barrow Island. Related to the mainland wallabies, they are significantly smaller than their mainland relatives, with a squat body and distinctive face shape. They derive their moisture from the plants they eat and by licking dew off of vegetation. Post-partum oestrus (being on heat soon after giving birth) and embryonic diapause (cessation of the development of an embryo) are reported in observations of BWI euros. Breeding may occur throughout the year, but will be restricted in times of severe drought. Also known as wallaroo.

biker—person who rides a motorcycle (not a member of a gang as in: bikie).

bikie—member of a motorcycle gang.

bikkies—1. biscuits (cookies); not to be confused with scones (biscuits). 2. money; "I'll wager that car cost you big bikkies!".

bilby—a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial of the genus Macrotis. The bilby is a solitary, highly territorial, desert-dwelling animal that is easily recognised by tall, erect, pointing ears: these permit heat-loss during the day (thermoregulation) and afford keen hearing for their night foraging. Once covering more than 70% of the mainland, bilbies now survive only at the edges of arid regions, and are nearing extinction. The main reason for the declining numbers is the introduction of feral animals that feed on the bilby, such as cats, foxes and particularly rabbits, which compete for its habitat. Sometimes known as the rabbit bandicoot, the bilby is the adopted emblem of the Easter season in Australia. Also known regionally as pinki, dalgyte, ninu and walpa.

bilge—nonsense; rubbish.

bill—a proposal for a new law. A bill cannot become law unless agreed to in the same terms by the House of Representatives and the Senate. In rare circumstances, the two Houses of Parliament cannot reach an agreement. In this situation, the Governor-General can authorise a double dissolution, as prescribes in section 57 of the Commonwealth Constitution.

billabong—a part of the floodplain river ecosystem, which contributed substantially to biodiversity in lowland areas. A billabong can be formed in a number of ways. It may be an oxbow lake, formed when a meandering river cuts off one of its own loops, or a dead-end channel formed in a similar way; it can be a streambed that's only full when it rains, or a waterhole that's left behind when the rest of a stream dries up. The word derives from the Wiradhuri language, bila (river) and bang (a place filled with water only after it rains).

billet—1. a place where troops etc are lodged, usually with civilians. 2. a situation; the job.

billies—children (rhyming slang: billy lids—kids).

billy—tin container used for boiling water, making tea etc when out camping.

billy goat plum—Terminalia ferdinandiana, harvested commercially outside of Kakadu and marketed as the Kakadu plum. It is a deciduous tree, spreading up to 10m, very common in savannahs in the Top End. It bears a pale green to yellow fruit, with a pleasant flavour and a high content of Vitamin C, higher than oranges. The fruit are produced in the late wet to early dry season, March to June. They are used extensively in the bush food industry, for jams and chutneys. Fruit is generally sourced from uncontrolled wild harvest. The gum that exudes from the bark is also edible. Some plantations have been established in the Northern Territory. This plant is also widely used medicinally. A preparation from the inner bark is used to treat sores, boils, backache and ringworm. In the past it was used for leprosy.

Bimberamala National Park—contains much of the catchment area of the pristine Bimberamala River. Walkers and anglers will find exploring the park's forests and waterways a rewarding experience, as the area has been left entirely in its natural state. No facilities are provided, and opportunities for backpack camping are limited due to the rugged terrain. Located 30 km west of Batemans Bay and 10 km north of Kings Highway in New South Wales.

Bimberi Nature Reserve—comprises part of the Brindabella Range, about 30km south-west of Canberra. The headwaters of the Cotter River, which supplies water to Canberra, arise in the Bimberi wilderness, where subalpine bogs of sphagnum moss purify the water. The area covered by the reserve lies on the junction of the territories of the Ngunawal and Walgalu tribes. The area has been occupied for at least 5000 years. Most of the recorded sites lie along spur and ridge-lines, while natural treeless areas are also likely to contain sites. The Bimberi Nature Reserve lies between Namadgi and Kosciuszko national parks.

Bimberi Wilderness—surrounding Bimberi Peak and spilling over the border into NSW, this area includes some of the Alps’ most beautiful scenery. The headwaters of the Cotter River, which supplies water to Canberra, arise in the Bimberi Wilderness, where sub-alpine bogs of sphagnum moss purify the water. Part of the Namadgi National Park in Victoria.

bimble box—Eucalyptus populnea, a woodlands tree to 20m, commonly found in the Brigalow Belt Bioregion of central Queensland. This tree is widespread and abundant in drier areas of the east coast, ranging from Hay in New South Wales, north to Rockhampton in Queensland. It is commonly found on red loams of light texture, but also on black-soil plains. The tree is characterised by oil-rich leaves that assist in warding off predators. Also known as poplar box, because of its poplar-like leaf.